Eliminating reflections in eyes

[AllOtherNamesTaken]

I've been experimenting around with my "strobist" lighting setup over the past couple days and I am finding it very difficult to prevent 1-2 huge umbrella reflections in the subject's eyes. Are there any tricks to help reduce/avoid this? I am in a fairly small room with the umbrellas close to the subject and I am shooting SB-600's through them.

Also, when using clamshell lighting, are there any tricks to avoiding very large umbrella reflections in the eyes?

I am absolutely loving the light that comes from the umbrellas, however I am finding such large reflections really take away from my pictures.

Thanks in advance,

Mark

 

[Bluephotons]

I was under the impresion that this poligonal shaped reflections were rather welcome, I'm confussed now.
--
Bluephotons
Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now. Bob Dylan

 

[leethecam]

If you loose the reflections the eyes will become dull and lifeless.

Of course it's a matter of taste how strong the reflections should be. (I love highlights and you'll find me happily dodging away into the midnight hours to get the effect I'm after...)

Heck I sometimes get reflections of the reflector under a model's face in their eyes and I love them too.

If you are really bothered by the nature of the reflections then you could try a trick I employ when using large soft boxes when glasses present awkward reflections.

I simply put two vertical and two horizontal strips of black gaffa tape to create a "window pane" effect and the result can mimic a window reflection - which seems more natural and acceptable than a man-made softbox. (Clients think I'm daft but they love the results.)

The above only really works with largish softboxes and alas I don't think it would look right on umbrellas.

Of course, short DoF would help soften the edges of the highlights and you could also add a little gausian blur to them in photoshop to help "ease" them in.

LEE

 

[Fantasy Photo]

Catchlights are normally desireable. But if you want to eliminate them, there are several ways to do so. Try repositioning the lights so that the reflection is eliminated. That may mean using a completely different lighting setup than you usually use, but there's more that one way to light a subject. Also, try using a smaller light. A 10-metal bowl reflector is less likely to cause catchlights than is a large umbrella. Of course, that's a big change in your lighting setup and you'll obviously get a different look. Finally, you can always do some retouching in Photoshop.
--
http://www.fantasy-photo.com

 

[AllOtherNamesTaken]

First of all, thank you for the replies so far.

I think I should have been a little bit more clear though. I am not trying to eliminate the catch light totally, as I agree it looks good. My issue is that I am getting, for example, very large reflections on the iris, on either side of the pupil, and you can clearly see the large umbrella shape in each reflection. It was my understanding that the catch light should be in the pupil, is that correct?

Thanks again,

Mark

 

[B Gavin]

Mark the simplest approach IMO is to plan ahead and do a few shots of just the eyes using a set-up that keeps you free of the reflections that bug you but gives you some shots from the same angles you'll be doing later but close up - then just swap them over. Its a bit of extra work, but if its a paying shoot and it'll get you some smiles from the clients - go for it.

BG

 

[Jeff Maanum]

I'm not a big fan of double catchlights although some people like them. I usually clone out the second cathlight. You can also make catchlights larger, smaller, or change the shape of them quite easily in PP.
--

Support our troops. Bring them home to their families.

 

[Fantasy Photo]

No, it would be unusual to have a catch light only in the pupil. If you think the catchlights are too bit, you can move the umbrellas back a bit, or use smaller ones. You might want to go to the library and look at the covers of a bunch of fashion magazines. You'll see that just about all of the cover photos have large, and often double, catchlights. In some you can even see the reflection of the photographer. As long as the photo looks good and the catchlights aren't distracting and really outside the norm, you shouldn't have to worry about catchlights.

It was my
understanding that the catch light should be in the pupil, is that
correct?

--
http://www.fantasy-photo.com

 

[jugglervr]

hmm. you could try a polarizer to reduce the reflections...

pretty much, the eye reflects the room it's seeing. try looking at a damp orb and you'll see just how much of the surrounding room you can see. Consequently, if there are giant light sources in the room, you'll see them.

--

'I put the camera in 'P' for 'professional' and wrote what I wanted the camera to do on a sticky note under the batteries... Used the headlights from my car on the model and that did the trick...'



You can have it done (pick two): () good () cheap () fast. -Anonymous

 

[Gene L.]

Some like them rectangular and some like them round. Some like only one and others don't mind two. There is not just one right look. A study of portraiture from various shooters would be a good exercise. When you have seen thousands of images and made a study of it, you will better know what you think constitutes good catch lights.

One thing that seems to be nearly universal is that catch lights are generally above and not below the middle of the pupil and are usually off toward one side or the other. Personally, I much prefer a nice large round catch light above center from an umbrella rather than the little pin light dead center that comes from an on camera flash.

There are some excellent photographers on this forum. You might want to try "Click for Profile" for some posters and visit their web sites to see their vision of good. I must warn you though, it can be humbling. Also note that some of these sites are not work safe (or spouse safe).

-Gene L.
http://www.ttl-biz.com

 

[AllOtherNamesTaken]

Thanks everyone - I am not too worried about the umbrella reflections anymore as it seems like they are pretty normal. Also I think if I wasn't in such a small room, I could move the umbrellas back a bit and have smaller reflections to deal with. I did end up using the clone tool to tone them down a bit.

Thanks again for all of the great help I've been getting from all of you lately.

Mark